University of Arkansas head football coach Bret Bielema was the featured speaker at the latest Hot Springs Village Razorback Club dinner which completely filled Coronado Community Center auditorium with approximately 350 interested Hog fans.

After a dinner catered by Home Plate Café, Bielema began his talk by saying, “It’s awesome to be here tonight,” then added that this past year has been one of the best in his life.

The “head hog” then spoke about recruiting and related that to the past 3 – 9 season, commenting that in a situation like this a coach gets to talk to players who want to build something and come to be a part of something special.

Bielema, whose day this day began at 3:15 a.m., said recruiting starts in Arkansas and he’s pleased with getting Eldorado’s Bijhon Jackson (DT) and North Little Rock’s Juan Day (RB), who, coach said, is in rehab and four to six weeks ahead of a scheduled return.

And the coach is excited about the three new hires to his football staff, those being Roy Segrest (defensive line/specialists), Robb Smith (defensive coordinator/secondary)and Clay Jennings (defensive backs).

“I’m excited about our group,” Bielema said of his current players who are now in the weight room getting ready for the upcoming year.

He added there are of lot of things to be corrected, but one of them is not how hard his players work.

Prior to the meeting Bielema sat with the Voice and answered questions for nearly 20 minutes.

Asked about the past season and the positives gained from the 2013 season Bielema said, “As a head coach you are always trying to find indicators that show you which way you’re going.”

“Obviously I’ve been in a position with a lot of success and this year was uncharted waters, but the one thing you had going forward was the players were definitely hearing what you were saying. I put it as simple as this. At the end of the year there were a lot of teams that were in a situation like us, didn’t have a great record, weren’t playing for a team that was going to be bowl eligible, weren’t playing for a championship, but the part that was positive was our kids kept getting better.”

“You see a lot of teams in that same scenario who either give up or stop playing or are getting smoked by a number of scores, and I saw our guys fighting until the bitter end and entered those last four or five ballgames with the full intent to win.”

Bielema finds it interesting that Auburn and Missouri, who played for the SEC title, combined for one SEC win the prior season.

Zeroing in on one specific football area of improvement last year the coach said it was the mental discipline. “Last year we were the most penalized team in the SEC and this year we were the least penalized team in the SEC and I think that is a little bit of an indicator that they are hearing what you’re saying.”

Bielema couldn’t talk much about recruiting but said it was going very well. Five coaches spread out in Texas trying for recruits and thus far the Hogs have two. And the department is in the process of hiring a director of recruiting, perhaps in the next few weeks.

As for this coming season Bielema said the fans will see a change in the physical appearance of the team.

“We’ve recruited bigger players, not necessarily weight-wise but length, in arm length. Our offensive line in general has become much longer and a lot more adaptive to what we ask them to do offensively and defensively, and we gotten a lot quicker with guys that we feel can play the game at the speed and tempo you need in the SEC,” Bielema said.

“And also the pure details of executing what we want on offense and defense. Offensively being able to run the ball effectively, catch the ball on third down, be able to execute on third down offensively and defensively, being able to execute in the red zone on offense and defense. Those are all critical points.”

As for 2014 needs coach Bielema said, “Any time you transfer from one year to the next you take a look at what players you lost and the production they created.”

Bielema is obviously pleased Trey Flowers will be back for his senior year, which he expected.

His return shows that he, Flowers, “wants to be a part of something he knows will be a turnaround and witness it firsthand instead of reading about it someplace else.”

Replacing kicker Zack Hocker will be a tough fill for one person Bielema said. “You can’t ask someone to fill in for a fifth year senior the way Zack was able to produce.”

Bielema said they have signed a national record holder for field goals.

As for national recruiting coach said it comes down to the internet. “At Arkansas we use every resource we have. It’s interesting for me that players can come out of the places you least expect it at the most opportunistic times.” He tells his coaches to always look for players that can help Arkansas win, don’t look at a cookie-cutter approach.

What about the difference he sees between the Big 10 and the SEC?

“I would say defensive front seven. Not necessarily bigger size-wise, but larger athletes that can run better and also just the speed of the game.”

He added that every team has special players but that’s more prominent in the SEC. “Everybody has them.”

Asked about reactions to his recent comments and his apology related to the new speed-up rule change Bielema said, “I didn’t apologize necessarily for what I said, I apologized for the way it was interpreted and I think that’s a key point.”

“And I didn’t mean to have any ill will or any bad feelings to come out. I mean obviously the loss of life is something that is a very difficult, hard situation. I lost a sister at an early age and I know how difficult those things can be.”

“The only thing that I wish or wish you could take back was the way it was first represented on Twitter. You’ve got a writer who wants to tell a few words and pull a few things out to cause a reaction on Twitter and that was a guy who has never really covered me or understood where we’ve coming from and kind of just wants to make a name for himself and the result is what we see.”

Asked by another reporter in the room about a lasting perception on the program of the controversy Bielema said, “The fact of the matter is we’re a 3-9 football team and people, I think, have the perception that you can fire as many shots as you want to fire in that particular case. I just wish I could sit down with that writer and we could have a conversation.”

Asked if the writer had reached out to him and Bielema said, “No.”

Bielema said Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long has been great.

They have been around each other several times since the controversy and the greatest thing they can do is continue to protect and preach all the things he believes in which is the personal well-being of student-athletes.

“That’s the only soapbox I’m on and I believe in it 100 times over,” he said.

The one thing he assures his players’ families is that he will look out for the well-being of their son and not put them in harm’s way. “That’s something I hold near and dear to my heart and I’ll never waiver. And I think that excites our players more than anything.”

Throughout the entire evening Bielema was open, humorous, signed autographs and posed for photos. And he even jumped in as club president Jim Webb was auctioning off a beautiful wooden Razorback football which got the crowd excited and brought lots of laughter to a room full of Hog faithful.